So I got a little bored of following the tried-and-true path across the top of the tech tree. I'll still admit it is probably the most efficient way through the game and the dominant strategy for most Civs at this point. But, for those who want to try something different...I tried out something last night on an Immortal pangaea that was at least...different.
I picked the Aztecs, who I still find to be a poor civ choice. However, they give the max impact of any Civ for this approach. India would also be a fantastic choice. Siam would probably rank #3.
I spawned in a jungle/river/lake area, perfect for the Aztecs. I went Archery and immediately went Temple of Artemis, adding my first +10%
modifier in all cities. From there, I went Wheel to get the Floating Gardens unlocked (Aztec only). Took +15% more in capital, plus turned my 5 lake tiles into +4 . Built a Granary (+4 with two deer).
From there, it was filling in a couple resource techs (mining, calendar) then immediately to Mathematics so I could start on Hanging Gardens. Hanging Gardens came in around turn 60-65, giving me another +10 All the while, I was filling up Tradition, getting another +4 and +25% growth in Tenochtitlan. Then, I went into We Love the King Day. That is +75% growth and +30 raw (in addition to my general terrain) if you are keeping score, all before turn 70.
From there, it was directly on to Engineering, where I hit Medieval and unlocked Aqueducts. After that, it was on to Writing and Philosophy and NC and all of that.
The population was simply unbelievable. It was out of hand. After all thatmongering and aqueducts, my population was growing at a rate of 1 citizen per 2-3 turns. Of course, 
was an issue, but the production power of Tenochtitlan was unreal. By the Renaissance I was upwards of 30 population in the capital.
Sure, I was behind on
for awhile (did eventually take a big lead due to sheer population) and it probably isn't the true optimal approach. But if you want to build an absurd megacity, this is the way...
I picked the Aztecs, who I still find to be a poor civ choice. However, they give the max impact of any Civ for this approach. India would also be a fantastic choice. Siam would probably rank #3.
I spawned in a jungle/river/lake area, perfect for the Aztecs. I went Archery and immediately went Temple of Artemis, adding my first +10%
modifier in all cities. From there, I went Wheel to get the Floating Gardens unlocked (Aztec only). Took +15% more in capital, plus turned my 5 lake tiles into +4 . Built a Granary (+4 with two deer).From there, it was filling in a couple resource techs (mining, calendar) then immediately to Mathematics so I could start on Hanging Gardens. Hanging Gardens came in around turn 60-65, giving me another +10
All the while, I was filling up Tradition, getting another +4 and +25% growth in Tenochtitlan. Then, I went into We Love the King Day. That is +75% growth and +30 raw (in addition to my general terrain) if you are keeping score, all before turn 70.From there, it was directly on to Engineering, where I hit Medieval and unlocked Aqueducts. After that, it was on to Writing and Philosophy and NC and all of that.
The population was simply unbelievable. It was out of hand. After all that
mongering and aqueducts, my population was growing at a rate of 1 citizen per 2-3 turns. Of course, was an issue, but the production power of Tenochtitlan was unreal. By the Renaissance I was upwards of 30 population in the capital.Sure, I was behind on
for awhile (did eventually take a big lead due to sheer population) and it probably isn't the true optimal approach. But if you want to build an absurd megacity, this is the way...
around 1400 AD. He only had 2 little satellite cities and i had 8 cities(3 of mine). We both teched hard in this game and we fought with artillery and rifles for a while.
tiles or work those 
), HS[T99 dicey], PT[105 late] & Notre Dame[116 late]
) ...
]- stood on the defensive [always a bit behind on tech...] -> Now I'm sitting on 5 GS, have 4 RA going and hopefully a LATE LATE science victory is still in the cards...
